A number of commercial companies and government institutions maintain a fleet of vehicles and have an interest in keeping track of the vehicles and shipments, as well as the performance and well-being of their drivers. These parties frequently equip their fleet vehicles with devices configured to track the vehicles' geographic locations, speeds, headings, cargo temperature, engine performance parameters, and other data. Such information is used, for example, to maintain the vehicles, estimate delivery times, provide warning of possible damage to cargo, and to evaluate driver performance.
Some regulatory agencies also have an interest in fleet vehicle information, such as the number of miles a delivery vehicle has travelled since its last safety inspection, or the number of hours a driver has been on duty since he or she last rested. In some cases, this information was traditionally recorded on paper (e.g., driver log books) or in proprietary electronic formats. In either case, such information can be inconvenient to access or share with regulatory inspectors or other third parties.